Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

The reasonable expectation is that most residents in BA1 will commute to work outside Baldock, increasing the pressure on the roads and railway. Baldock railway station would need to be extended. Govia intend to cut 'fast' trains stopping at Baldock other than at peak times, which will be massively problematic for commuters. Adding a further 2800 homes will only exacerbate the problem of overcrowding on the trains, particularly at peak times. Plan not consistent with national policy as it doesn't properly assess transport improvements needed to ensure safe access to the station.

There are already tailbacks at the Whitehorse Street junction and if BA1 contains 2800 more households, the traffic flow through this junction will increase significantly. The plan mentions that BA1 site is big enough to support a new link road, including an additional bridge over the railway, but the sustainability assessment does not assess what is needed. The Transport Assessment does not consider N of Baldock, only Baldock WITH Letchworth in traffic modelling. Local Plan Model Testing 60271338 says in para 2 Baldock and Letchworth have not been tested to date.

An infrastructure development plan is included in the evidence base but it gives insufficient detail on how the infrastructure will be developed and who will meet the costs (the developers may not). This is not consistent with national policy: NPPF paragraph 177 states that "It is . . . important to ensure that there is a reasonable prospect that planned infrastructure is deliverable in a timely fashion . . . and . . . that local planning authorities understand district-wide development costs at the time Local Plans are drawn up".

An infrastructure development plan is included in the evidence base but it gives insufficient detail on how the infrastructure will be developed and who will meet the costs (the developers may not). This is not consistent with national policy: NPPF paragraph 177 states that "It is . . . important to ensure that there is a reasonable prospect that planned infrastructure is deliverable in a timely fashion . . . and . . . that local planning authorities understand district-wide development costs at the time Local Plans are drawn up".

There are already tailbacks at the Whitehorse Street junction and if BA1 contains 2800 more households, the traffic flow through this junction will increase significantly. The plan mentions that BA1 site is big enough to support a new link road, including an additional bridge over the railway, but the sustainability assessment does not assess what is needed. The Transport Assessment does not consider N of Baldock, only Baldock WITH Letchworth in traffic modelling. Local Plan Model Testing 60271338 says in para 2 Baldock and Letchworth have not been tested to date.

There are already tailbacks at the Whitehorse Street junction and if BA1 contains 2800 more households, the traffic flow through this junction will increase significantly. The plan mentions that BA1 site is big enough to support a new link road, including an additional bridge over the railway, but the sustainability assessment does not assess what is needed. The Transport Assessment does not consider N of Baldock, only Baldock WITH Letchworth in traffic modelling. Local Plan Model Testing 60271338 says in para 2 Baldock and Letchworth have not been tested to date.